In this week’s Vlog post I talk about my soon-to-happen journey through the Affordable Care Act, the relaunch of Oxygen magazine (yay!) and my super, duper giveaway this week—a triple pack of workout DVDs from the amazing. Ellen Barrett. Are you ready to rock?

Ellen Barrett is an amazing fitness pro who has a new line of workout DVDs Ellen Barrett Live. You can learn more about her at www.ellenbarrett.com

Now onto this week’s Vlog post:

Here is more information the DVDs you can win:

New Haven, CT –Think of Ellen Barrett’s workouts like those little breath mints. They look so small and yet they still set your insides on fire. With Ellen’s three new DVD workouts, in just 30 to 45 minutes, you will feel the heat throughout your entire body. Like that blast of minty-fresh air, you’ll be refreshed and ready for whatever awaits afterwards. The new “Ellen Barrett Live” series is comprised of “Fusion Floor Workout”, “Sleek Sculpt Express” and “Super Fast Body Blast.” They are $15.00 each and available at www.ellenbarrett.com. These ultra-efficient, intelligent workouts reflect Ellen’s signature blending of the peacefulness of yoga with the intelligence of Pilates and the pure fun of dance. Reflecting her motto, “Exercise should feel good”, they will help women enjoy exercise as much as the benefits that come as a result. They are all done in bare feet and modifications for all fitness levels are demonstrated throughout the workouts by Ellen and her friends.

“Ellen Barrett Live: Fusion Floor Workout” is done on a mat without any standing exercises at all. It uses no props and no shoes. It’s a complete total-body sculpting workout for people with, or without, injuries. Soothing yet effective, the moves flow gracefully blending strength and stretch at every turn. 45 minutes.

“Ellen Barrett Live: Sleek Sculpt Express” uses light hand weights. Every exercise is choreographed to seamlessly move into the next so muscles are always engaged. A modern, gentle yet challenging total body workout, and it appropriate for all fitness levels. 30 minutes.

“Ellen Barrett Live: Super Fast Body Blast” employs big ranges of motion to crank the cardio and condition the body whole body while going easy on the joints. It’s designed to create glorious balance from head to toe. 30 equipment-free minutes.

How is everyone? I am feeling fit & fabulous after enjoying a solid week of rest and relaxation. Is there anything better than that? I think not and am ready to get back to my life which includes Blogging and Vlogging for all of you nice folks. Yay!

So how did I spend my week? Instead of working my day job, teaching or training I decided to go out there and try some classes out there that have always intrigued me and enjoy being a student for a change. So without further ado (well, there may be more ado about them in a future article for Fit Bottomed Girls so stay tuned!) here is a quick summation of the classes I was able to take this week.

First up we have Bari Studio in Soho where I tried out “Bari Micro”—a very cool 60-minute class where the focus was on the smaller muscles around your body. Really challenging and fun to try out. (See photo of the Soho studio above.)

Next I finally had the time to check out the celebrated “barre” class Physique 57 which completely kicked my booty. (Apparently Kelly Ripa is a big fan of the workout.)

The Fhitting Room is an Upper East Side High Interval Intensity Training Studio (HIIT) that is a big hit among NYC fitness editors so I knew I had to try them out for myself. Not sure how I made it through the whole hour but I will for sure come back (Thanks so much @erocfitness and @drossfit!)

Finally I decided to get a major sweat going with Moska Yoga NYC which is a fast-rising yoga studio movement which emphasizes kindness to both the participants and the environment. My good friend Marrilee Wilson studies at their Halifax studio and turned me on to their classes. (I just could not stomach the idea of Bikram yoga which also believes in a hot room to practice but is WAY too strict for my taste.

Whew! It was a tough week but like I said, it was so nice as an instructor to play the role of an eager student and take my game to a higher level in my own classes. (Thanks to all of you fantastic instructors this past week!)

So now that summer is on the wane and I have been indulging in a little too much “not Paleo” food and wine the last few months I have decided to start a whole new “Whole 30” month starting today. Hooray! This means I will follow Robb Wolf’sPaleo Solution plan for the next 30 days and will NOT indulge in:

Processed food (nothing that comes out of a box or a bag)

Sugars (except from fruit)

Any kind of dairy

Wheat, gluten or grain

Wine (boo!)

If you want to follow along on my adventure be sure to check me out on Instagram where I will post my day’s meals. (Or if you just want to see photos of some of the cutest cats you have ever seen in your entire life!!! (Really.)

Lastly I want to thank Danny J. of The Sweaty Betties who featured me as an “Ambassador Spotlight” this past week. (And if any of you wouldn’t mind retweeting it I would be most grateful!

Now onto this week’s Vlog post:

Okay—that is it for me today. This week Brooklyn Fit Chick is back up and running and I am looking forward to getting healthy this fall with all of you lovely people!

First of all I am beyond thrilled to announce that I have been accepted as “Sweat Pink” ambassador for Fit Approach wee! Thanks so much to all of the gals there and I promise to work hard to help our community grow. Now that is out of the way—I am ready to dive in. Let’s get to getiin’!

This week I went through my typical “What the hell am I going to talk about on my next Vlog post?” when I came across an incredible essay on Huffington Post written by Iris HigginsAn Open Apology to All of My Weight Loss Clients who in essence regrets how she spoke and treated her former clients from a “popular weight-loss company.” Higgins realizes now that many of them might have felt like failures for not losing weight after following her strict advice when in fact they could very well have had real health issues that would prevent anyone from losing weight. Plus, she now realizes 1200 per day calorie plan was far too little for most folks to follow. (Yikes!) and that people can gain and lose weight for a whole myriad of reasons. A great piece I must say

As a health & wellness professional I find it very enlightening when I hear one of my peers humble themselves to new lessons and pass them along to help out others. My good friend Marrilee is a yoga instructor and one of the first things she realized when she first began teaching was that putting yourself out there to the world as a so-called “expert” could bring up old issues you normally could ignore your whole life. You have to showyour best self when teaching and literally have someone’s health in your hands. It’s easy to forget the power of that and act as if every class and student were the same.

Have you ever taken a class and felt like the instructor behaved as if they were the only ones who counted in the room? Or ignored everyone and just watched themselves in the mirror? Or (and I really HATE this) when they appear to only appreciate the suck-ups and fans in the classroom (evil!)

Part of becoming a good instructor is learning to bring energy and wisdom to every single class you teach. In spite of the air conditioning breaking, or the sound system not working, or feeling like garbage because you didn’t get enough sleep the night before or dealing with folks who will NOT put down their cell phone down (what is wrong with those people?)

In this week’s Vlog post I talk about my own struggle to overcome my inner “Grumpy Old Man” (or more accurately—my inner a**hole) and how I deal with it when it rears its head. Plus, we have a Lisa Johnson DVD giveaway (In fact, I am giving away FIVE of her DVDs this week!)

Lisa is someone I have followed for years on Twitter (@LisaJohnson) and was thrilled to finally make her acquaintance at this year’s Fitbloggin’ convention. This Boston gal is just about as nice and down-to-earth as one can be and still be a total badass. You can follow her on her on You Tube here; https://www.youtube.com/user/LisaJohnsonFitness and here is the link for her excellent web site.

Now onto this week’s Vlog post:

Here is more information he DVDs you can win:

August 1, 2013 – Boston, MA – New from fitness professional and Pilates studio owner, Lisa Johnson (www.lisajohnsonfitness.com) comes two new DVDs. Body Physica: INTENSE (42 minutes, $19.95) features four High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) workouts that get the entire body in shape in just 10 minutes! Participants can do one routine or all four to see immediate results. It doesn’t matter what experience or fitness levels — beginner, intermediate, or advanced — viewers get an energizing, body sculpting workout every time they press play! The Modern Pilates DVD (51 minutes, $19.95) is a mat workout that makes one “tighter, higher, and smaller,” in all the right places. Featuring a 50-minute routine for all levels — beginner, intermediate, and advanced — this DVD provides a workout to strengthen and tone the entire body. Following Lisa’s expert instruction one will tone arms, get fabulous abs, tighten the ‘tuchas’ and get glorious legs in no time. Both DVDs are available at www.bodyphysica.com.

Lisa Johnson is a fitness professional striving to get “real” fitness information to others who want to achieve a healthy and fit lifestyle. She is highly regarded in the American fitness industry, as a personal trainer, motivational speaker and has established a huge following on her daily blog. Lisa runs an award-winning Pilates studio in Boston, and has quickly established herself as a writer of integrity on all things fitness. As a trainer who is “in the trenches” working daily with people, Lisa brings a unique perspective to fitness, knowing how to translate even the most complex movements to the average person. She has appeared as a fitness expert in numerous publications including The New York Times, Glamour, Family Circle, The Boston Globe, Entrepreneur and Inc. As a writer, Lisa was a columnist for Pilates Style magazine and writes extensively at her blog, Lisa Johnson Fitness: Everything for a Healthy Body. She is also a brand ambassador for FitStudio by Sears and shares exercise routines in online videos for both FitStudio and Diet.com. Her credentials include: Harvard University Graduate with Bachelor of Science Degree, Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Pilates Instructor, and the only Pilates instructor accepted as an educational affiliate member of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists (ACOG.)

Both DVDs are available for purchase and as digital download for $19.95 each at www.bodyphysica.com.

Got that? Now, in order to win one of Lisa Johnson’s DVDs you must do the following:

The heat—I can NOT take this heat anymore. Now if I had some of these groovy items that promise to cool me off while working out my attitude on it might improve. (Though I can’t guarantee it!)

“White Out”

I am not a big tennis person (I can barely hit the ball back!) However, these skirts make me want to act all preppy and super WASP-y.

“Best Road Trip Ever”

Looking for ideas for the rest of summer to both relax and get a good sweat going? Try this feature which includes a hike I MUST try out near Philly real soon.

“Drive-Through Done Right”

Ever been on a road trip and had to face nonstop, lousy fast food options for your meals? (Yuck!) Fitness offers suggestions for “safe bets” to order from the top ten popular chains.

And now the rest of this issue of Fitness:

“Running in the Family” Marathoner (and writer) Alyssa Shaffer talks about learning to run with her five-year old twins.

“Workouts Gone Wrong” There are tons of people out there doing a particular workout (coughs…CrossFit…coughs) that isn’t particularly a. safe or b. good for you. Get the details on what can go wrong (with the aforementioned one as well as others) and how to avoid injury.

“Pool It” Are you one of those lucky so-and-sos who has access to a pool? I hate you! Kidding! Look at this feature for moves you can do while hanging out in your pool. (Your pool? I hate you!)

“Pour it On” If you love juice but worry about empty calories—here are some healthy options.

“Ditch the Sugar Habit” Tips on how to ditch the sweet stuff from your life.

Maria Menounos who has an UNREAL body!!!! Maria is a host on the TV show EXTRA and is helping to judge the Women’s Health Next Fitness Star (more on that later.) She also has a rather unique laugh that I try to recreate here in this Vlog post.

The one thing that made me sad reading her interview was that she has a cup of hot water every morning to start her day. (Sounds very depressing to me…) Anyhoo, you can see Maria and ace trainer Harley Pasternak featured in the workout inside:

So what else is in the July/August issue of Women’s Health?

“Women’s Health Next Fitness Star”

Women’s Health invites you to find the next workout superstar with their very own competition—.The Next Fitness Star.com. You can check out all of the finalists in this issue.

“Food For Thought”

Can junk food actually hurt your brain activity? Learn about the good and bad foods for your brain here.

“Chilling Effect”

Cool fitness gear that will help you beat the heat. (I am eyeing a few things on this page!)

“Soap Smackdown”

It’s the soap bars vs. the soap washes in this beauty smack down!

And now the rest of the best of this issue of Women’s Health:

“Hydrate for Your Health” Women’s Health talks about the importance of staying hydrated and “proper water consumption.”

“Go with the Pro” Oh how I probiotics…

“Even if You Live at Work, It’s Not Home” I really liked this article about people who overshare every single detail of their lives to everyone around them. (Boundaries, people!)

“I Survived Hurricane Sandy” Staten Island resident Kim Joyce survived the storm and has one hell of a harrowing story to tell. (Sorry about your sweet kitties Kim!)

Overall Grade:

B: I say take this one to the beach (or by the pool) and enjoy this fun summer read. (However, I could have used more workouts.)

Special Projects Editor of Runner’s World and author of Runner’s World Big Book of Marathon and Half-Marathon Training

Runner’s World August 2013

Hey Gang!

Today I am featuring the second part of my interview with Jennifer Van Allen (Special Projects Editor) of Runner’s World where she talks about her favorite training tips for runners. Please know that you should plan to run frequently for at least a year before planning your first marathon.

Enjoy!

Jennifer Van Allen/Runner’s World

Jennifer Van Allen/Special Projects Editor of Runner’s World

Completing a marathon is an amazing, life-changing experience. Covering 26.2 miles (a distance most people hate to even drive!) on foot helps you discover just how strong you are, how much more powerful you are than you could have ever possibly imagined. And once you make those discoveries on the road, that new sense of power, and self-confidence spills over into other corners of your life – your friendships, your career, your love life, etc. Every finish line is just the start of a whole new adventure.

However, we typically recommend that you haveat least one year of experience running regularly (3 to 5 times per week), then follow at least a 16-week training program to prepare for the event. (Runner’s World offers over a dozen marathon training plans, for people of all abilities and level of fitness at runnersworld.com/trainingplans.com)

For half-marathons, it’s best if you have at least six months to a year of experience running regularly, and follow a 10 to 14-week training program. (RW has over a dozen of those plans too at runners world.com/trainingplans).

Why bother with a training plan?

A plan helps you gradually build up the fitness you need to cover 13.1 or 26.2 miles feeling strong without getting hurt. One of the biggest challenges of training for a long-distance race is getting to the starting line injury free. Many runners run too many miles too fast, before their bodies are ready, or without giving them enough opportunity to recover, and they develop overuse injuries, like shin splints, IT band syndrome, plantar fasciitis, runner’s knee, etc. That’s because the musculoskeletal system (bones, ligaments, joints) take much longer to adapt to running than the cardiovascular system (the heart and the lungs.)

So, with a training plan you gradually build your mileage, starting with 20 to 30 miles per week with a 10-mile long run, and peaking with a 50 to 60-mile week with a 20-mile long run. Most plans also have a built in taper, a period of reduced mileage in the weeks before the race, to give your body a chance to recover from the work it’s endured, and rest up for the race effort ahead. Most importantly, the plan will feature longer two to three-hour runs to prepare your feet, lungs, legs, heart, and head for the challenge of covering the race distance.

Those long runs are “race rehearsals,” so in addition to getting accustomed to spending hours on your feet, as you’ll have to do on race day, you’ll also get an opportunity to try out different type of gear, shoes, apparel, and fueling. There are so many different products on the market. There’s no one product that’s best for everyone. So you have to find out what product is best for you.

One of the key aspects of training is learning how to eat on the run. When you’re on the road for more than 75 minutes at a time, you’ll need to refuel with 30 to 60 grams of carbs/hour on the road. This helps keep your energy levels stable all the way to the finish, so you avoid hitting the fabled “wall.” Many people use products like energy gels, sports drinks, chews, and even real food to do this. It’s important to start regularly fueling about 30 minutes into the long run or race, and keep refueling at regular intervals all the way to the finish. If you wait until you’re tired or hungry, it’s too tough to catch up.

A lot of the race day advice boils down to “do what’s worked for you during training.” Each person is different in terms of the types of foods they can tolerate while they’re on the road. So it takes time to test out different products to figure out what works for you.

Enter to win this goodie but not the kitty cat. (She is high maintenance anyway!)

Hey there! Hi there! Ho there!

How are you guys? I am posting a quick Blog post today because I was out in the sun having too much fun in Prospect Park with my Peeps and forgot to get something ready for my weekly Vlog—oops! So let me just say that you have until Monday, July 15th at Noon to enter to win my goodie bag from this year’s Fitbloggin. (Check the right hand side and look for episode 42 of my Vlog for the full details.)